Military cadets disabled during training: Supreme Court asks Centre if group medical insurance, one-time ex gratia payment can be considered

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued notice to the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) in the Ministry of Defence; Department of Defence in the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Chief of Defence Staff; and, heads of the Army, Air Force and Navy.

The court inquired whether the Centre can implement a scheme for ex-cadets, such as a group medical insurance plan or a one-time ex gratia payment. It also asked whether a fresh assessment can be conducted if the cadets recover from injuries suffered in training to see if they can be accommodated in the forces in some other capacity, if not on the field.

The court fixed September 4 to hear the “initial response”.

Taking up the matter for hearing, Justice Nagarathna said, “We noted this report in The Indian Express, Delhi edition, titled ‘Mounting medical bills, nowhere to go: Braveheart cadets disabled in military training struggle in shadows’, and a connected news item alongside. So my learned brother Justice K V Viswanathan and I, we discussed the matter.”

She said, “When I put it to him, he was gracious enough to concur with me that we should place this matter before the Chief Justice of India to consider it as a suo motu writ petition. His Lordship has treated it as a suo motu writ petition and he had placed the matter before this bench for registering it as a suo motu writ petition and for passing orders on the same.”

Subsequently, the matter was placed before the bench of Justices Nagarathna and Mahadevan.

During the hearing, a counsel for the ex-cadets said, “They say we aren’t the members of the armed forces, yet the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, does not apply to us. So we get no protection.” The court said that in the initial stages of the hearing, what could be done is increase the medical expenditure quantum per month.

Justice Nagarathna asked if there is any insurance cover for the cadets. “There should be some insurance to cover the trainee cadets, having regard to the rigorous training and the risk involved. Afterwards, if they get disabled, they are left high and dry except for this Rs 40,000 towards medical expenses,” she said.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for the Centre, said she would take instructions and revert.

Justice Nagarathna also asked if any “lumpsum ex gratia payment” is made to the cadets when they are discharged. The court was informed that it is paid and that the Defence Minister has decided to extend ECHS facilities to the cadets.

The court, however, pointed out that the file pertaining to the issue has been going back and forth. The court was informed that the Delhi High Court is also dealing with the matter and has issued notice to the Department of Expenditure.

The court sought to know whether extending ECHS facilities would cover disabilities. On being informed that it would, and that the files have been cleared, Justice Nagarathna asked, “So, it has not fructified?” She later said, “Now that we have taken up, there will be a momentum.”

The counsel for the ex-cadets pointed out that the question of resettlement was also a problem as they are not treated as ex-servicemen. Justice Nagarathna said, “There can be a scheme for the cadets who are disabled during training. But for the disability, they would have joined the forces. And then they would have been covered under the various benefits that are there for the armed forces personnel. It is unfortunate that they meet with an accident during training. And it is not owing to their negligence. It is an accident. So how to take care of such people?”

The apex court’s intervention was welcomed by the cadets whose cases were highlighted by The Indian Express in reports published on August 11, which were taken cognizance of by the bench headed by Justice Nagarathna.

“When we were injured during rigorous training we were not seen as disabled servicemen but as liabilities. Now, the Supreme court’s action truly feels like a ray of light after a decade of darkness,” said Shubham Gupta (33) who had wanted to be a fighter pilot but suffered a spinal cord injury at the National Defence Academy (NDA) that left him paralysed from the neck down.

Suman Raj, mother of former NDA cadet Vickrant Raj who suffered a head injury leading to brain haemorrhage and coma for six months, said the court’s move “shows that the highest authority of our country respects their sacrifice”. “For the first time, we feel the system may listen, and that our children, who gave their best in service to the nation, will now get the respect and security they truly deserve,” she said.

Kartik Sharma (27), another NDA cadet who suffered a spinal cord injury leading to paralysis, said “justice will be served”.

Ankur Chaturvedi (51), who was medically boarded out of NDA in 1996 due to a boxing injury, said the court’s intervention would ensure that “unheard voices will finally be heard”.

The Indian Express found that around 500 officer cadets have been medically discharged from top institutes, such as NDA, since 1985, due to varying degrees of disability incurred during training.

According to rules, these cadets are not entitled to the status of ex-servicemen (ESM), which would have made them eligible under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) for free treatment at military facilities and empanelled hospitals, since their disabilities took place during training before they were commissioned as officers.

And, unlike soldiers in this category who are entitled to ESM status, all that these officer cadets get now is an ex gratia payment of up to Rs 40,000 per month depending on extent of disability — an amount that falls far short of basic needs, they say, with medical expenses alone costing, on an average, nearly Rs 50,000 per month or more.

This newspaper also reported that while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had okayed a proposal last year to increase the ex gratia awarded in such cases, the file was caught between the Defence and Finance ministries.

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